Arcadian Broad Calls Out America’s Got Talent Producers and Piers Becomes a Shill
Normally you’d find a nice discussion of the various contestants in the America’s Got Talent season 4 semi finals. Instead, you’re going to get a nice rant or two that just need to be said.
Arcadian Braod Calls Out America’s Got Talent Producers
First up is Arcadian Broad calling out the producers of America’s Got Talent for basically forcing him to do the High School Musical themed dance. This really is nothing new for those who read the site. We’ve long known that the producers basically force the contestants to do a certain song that they think will play well on the show. I hear they actually suggest a couple pieces, but there’s usually one that they really want you to do.
The funny part is that Arcadian Broad actually started to talk about this on the show. You could tell he wasn’t happy that he was doing High School musical. I’m glad he did. The producers should be held accountable for the choices they make if he’s going to be ripped by the judges. I think the mistake for Arcadian was actually having other dancers on stage with him. It basically showed that there are a lot of other dancers his age that are just about as good. Sure, he has a bit of the it quality in his face and performance, but it wasn’t all that different than the other dancers on stage. Maybe he should go back to the piano;-)
All of this said, Arcadian isn’t really the story here. He’s just the one who brought it up. I thought he performed well with what he was given. I wonder what the show will do now to ensure that something like this doesn’t happen again. I don’t think they like for America to know what involvement the producers actually have in the acts.
Now Piers Morgan the Shill…
In the past, I’ve always felt like Piers Morgan did a pretty good job of responding with his actual and natural feelings towards contestants. However, this show Piers felt like an absolute shill of the show. It was like the producers had written the script of their favorites and he was highlighting those favorites. Sure, Sharon and Hoff are going to pretty much say nice things about everyone. That’s felt scripted for a long time. However, I always use to feel like Piers could really say what he thinks. Too bad that ended tonight.
Let me give you some examples…
Piers can’t really like the 3 tenors. Once they all start singing together they don’t mix well at all. The blonde guy is a star and the other 2 are just ok. Piers would have pointed this out usually.
Voices of Glory would have been buzzed if they weren’t the most hyped story ever on America’s Got Talent. The brothers just aren’t good enough and Piers would have happily buzzed them if they were anyone else.
Kevin Skinner gave his worst performance and one of the worst performances by a singer in America’s Got Talent history. Yet, Piers raved about how he draws people in. That’s basically Piers trying to say something nice since he can’t actually say Kevin’s a good singer since he’s not. Piers knows he’s not, but felt like he was muzzled and couldn’t say it the way it was.
I could keep going. Let’s just say that tonight was a low point for me in America’s Got Talent. I’d like to say it jumped the shark. However, I’ll say that the judges have more than jumped the shark. Normally I’d hate to keep watching a show like this. If the performers weren’t so talented and entertaining I’d have switched the channel long ago.
Woo…
Glad I got that off my chest!!
Also…
The Fab Five were the most underrated by the judges. They were dead on and I hope they make it to the next round.
OK, so John:
After tomorrow night’s show, are you going to write a whole separate article or are we going to keep up the commentary on this thread?
It seems like there are some already famous singers who have scratchy voices (Mazie Gray, Rod Stewart, Bonnie Tyler) who, if they were trying for the first time, would probably not make it very far on AGT. I realize that “scratchy voice” and “pitch” are two different things, my point is just that many already successful acts probably couldn’t make it past Piers’ buzzer.
Also, StevieCat: about the $25,000.00 annuity: that does put a new spin on things, doesn’t it? You are right it isn’t really a million dollar prize, because the show gets the use of the bulk of the money (and the interest) for several decades. So Piers is perhaps being disingenuous when he berates people for not having a million dollar talent. ALL of them have a $25,000.00 talent.
Donna, it’s probably the SAME one million dollars that pays out for every year’s winner!! LOL. They do, however, have the option of taking a one time payout which is a reduced amount. This used to be in very tiny print the first few years, but this year, it’s more prominent. That’s what kills me when you get these big dance teams dreaming about the prize. One year, I did the math and they would have gotten $1, 500 each for 40 years. Ridiculous. I firmly believe that this is the reason they added the Vegas show. Give them a REAL prize before the bomb drops and the public realizes there’s really no huge prize afterall. I love what you said about ALL of them having a $25,000 talent! Very good!
And, let’s wait for John’s snide reply about scratchy voice vs. out of pitch. I can hardly wait. But, I really don’t care, I’ll just go on annoying the voting public and vote for Kevin anyway because I want him to win. $25,000 a year will go far for him in Kentucky!!! He could probably buy a new house in the town he currently resides!! It’s almost like that website “votefortheworst.com” with American Idol. Only I don’t believe I’m voting for the worst, so I’m ok with it. Sorry John. I don’t always think with my head, but many times with my heart and clearly that’s what’s happening to me this year since nobody else is really all that fantastic. For instance, if Terry Fator was on this year, I’d be the first to want to send Kevin packing, but since there is nobody in that league, I’ll vote my heart instead. With the exception of Fator, you never hear from these people again anyway, so it really doesn’t matter in the huge scope of things. For instance, where’s Eli Mattson and the opera guy who beat him by a hair last year? I rest my case.
P.S. I couldn’t even remember the cry baby opera guy’s name. I had to google it….Neal Boyd.
Donna,
I will start another thread. Maybe I’ll start it early and then add my commentary later that evening. So, those on the east coast can start chatting away.
Yes, scratchy is different than pitch. There’s a whole lot of people who you wonder how they made it. However…ok I’ll spare StevieCat the truth;-)
I’m not sure all of them have a $25k talent. Although, most of them in the quarterfinals and on do. However, if you told me you’d give me $25k a year for the next 40 years I’d be super excited. Even if it’s not $1 million, that’s still a lot of cash. It doesn’t seem quite right though that they can call it $1 million and hammer on that so much.
First of all, John, thank you for sparing me :0)
Secondly, while, yes, $25,000 is a lot of money and I’d gladly take it, it’s not enough to pay off my house, or for me to quit working or to put my son through college, or even buy a decent new car, etc. It’s Game Show money and nowhere near the million dollar carrot they dangle in front of everyone’s nose. Especially when you have the dance teams saying what the million dollars would mean to them, don’t they know they split it? Or when Nuttin But Strings said they’d buy their mom a house with it….No they couldn’t, especially living up here in New York. It’s so sad to see that when they get all excited. The only ones I can see this benefiting are the children who will get the most money out of the annuity. By the time they are 18 or 21 (legal age), the $25,000 per year would have added up to something substantial that would enable them to have “life changing” cash reserves. I realize they can’t own up to this fact, but “The Shill” can stop setting that money up as a bar for the acts as Donna so astutely pointed out.
Anyway, I still am looking forward, for the time being, to watching tomorrow night. But I have to tell you, as die-hard a fan I have previous years up to and including the beginning of this year, I am finding that more and more, I think I might be able to do without it now that the judges have totally grossed me out with their choices and their comments. How in the world did not only TWO dog acts go through, but that ridiculous dominatrix yodeler Lucille Ball amazon get through and not the guitar kid?? Then all the phoney “top 4” when we all KNOW it had to be top 5. It will be interesting to see what they fake about Tuesday night to explain why they are having another 5 instead of 4….Oh, wait, I know, they’ll claim they want to make it an even 10. Mark my words.
And, again, John, thanks about the Kevin thing. :0)
Hi StevieCat:
The ridiculous yodeler dominatrix illustrates two good points: first, as you say, how she got chosen over other acts which IMO are better, such as the guitar kid or the woman who plays the harp; and second, how the judges run hot and cold with the whole “range” issue. When the yodeler tried to do a new routine, the judges all jumped on her. But who would pay to see her yodel for 90 minutes in a dominatrix outfit (other than Piers, sometimes I wonder about him)?
And the guy who set his rear end on fire illustrates the first issue of how in the world some people managed to get put through, as well as the producer issue. I suspect that someone from the producer’s office told him to wear those geeky clothes and “camp it up,” which inevitably led to his downfall (although I didn’t like his act in the first place and would have chosen about 50 people ahead of him).
It would be fun to have an interactive show where we could all bet on what the judges are going to say next.
Are you familiar with TV Without Pity? Their reviews of the show “7th Heaven” are hilarious. Well, they also review AGT.
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/americas-got-talent/
I have to go through and see what they have to say about all this.
Oh, Donna, I LOVE Television Without Pity. You should read their reviews of American Idol. I swear I love TWOP more than American Idol itself. They did not cover AGT in the past, so I never checked this year. Thank you for mentioning this. I’m going to go read it immediately. You should watch American Idol once it’s in full swing with it’s top 12 and then read TWOP. it’s just hilarious.
Ok, so I checked it out briefly and see that TWOP did cover AGT last year, I missed that one! But they don’t list the show in their “Shows” tab. I put it in “Search” and all that came up is last year’s reviews. I’ll look further tomorrow. Thanks, Donna.
StevieCat,
I’d be interested to know if/how much they get paid for the Las Vegas show. Now that it’s 60 shows I bet it’s a decent purse. Last year was one show so I’m sure it wasn’t too much. The other nice part is that many of the top 10 get to participate.
I will give you that there really isn’t a super special talent on the show this year. I hope the EriAm sisters will become it, but after their last performance I’m afraid the producers will hide their talent again. I enjoy Fab Five, but don’t really see them sustaining a show that I’d pay a bunch to go and see (let alone all wanting to since they have families in so many states).
Of course, I hear about the past talent more than others since I have this website. Neal Boyd has actually done pretty well having just released an album and touring with Paul Potts of BGT (I have few posts on this somewhere). Eli Mattson just got a new agent so we might see him again. Julianne Irwin was working on a record deal last I heard. I know Butterscotch was touring (in fact I was so upset I missed her in Las Vegas). I heard that Cas Haley was about to come out with something big (not sure what). Queen Emily is featured in Menopause the musical here in Las Vegas. Bianca Ryan has been singing all over and even here in Las Vegas. Donald Braswell has had a number of concerts and some PBS specials. Popovich’s Dog show has a spot here in Las Vegas.
I’m sure I’m missing some, but Terry Fator is the only one that’s made it really big. It’s also interesting that almost all of them are singers.
P.S. I started this post about 3 hours ago and just finished it now. Got pulled away.
Donna and StevieCat, are you cheating on me?
Just kidding. I enjoy all sorts of sites and I’m cool with sharing good content no matter where it’s found.
No way, John!! At least YOUR sight is sort of “interactive”. It permits us to input our opinions too. You have to start reviewing American Idol and then we wouldn’t need TWOP at all!
That’s true about the 60 shows. Ok, I’ll give you that and also the exposure of that many shows is equivalent to a tour across the country. But who is Case Haley and Julianne Irwin? I don’t remember them at all. I have actually seen the first year winner Bianca at the Jones Beach Marine Theater with my son w years agor when I took him to see Drake Bell (of Drake & Josh fame). She was fabulous. But she doesn’t get air time on the radio that I know of. Glad she’s making money. Good for her.
I have done some American Idol on http://www.puretvnet.com but so many people do it that I haven’t spent much time on it.
You should really look up Cas Haley and Julienne (I think I spelled it wrong before) Irwin. They are 2 of my favorite performers on America’s Got Talent and great talents.
I’ll YouTube them and see what I can find. I’ll probably remember them as soon as I see them.
By the way, re: your comment on the Fab Five no sustaining an audience. I was thinking, what about Flately and his Riverdance Troup? I think the Fab Five may find a niche out there….only not with me. LOL
I think they are spot on and good and everything, but I couldn’t sit through Riverdance either.
Hi John and StevieCat:
I liked Cas Haley and was sorry for him when he lost, but Terry Fator was my top favorite, and only one could win “the prize.” As long as he’s happy and is being treated well in Vegas (no Lorne treatment from Angel’s “The House Always Wins” episode), then I am happy for him.
It is nice to know that Cas Haley is still getting something out of his appearance on AGT, and in fact that many of the non-winning contestants are.
StevieCat: I am despondent that TWOP is not reviewing AGT this year, but I read the TWOP review of last year’s finals show, and it was too funny, and spot on.
My sister watches American Idol religiously, so maybe I will give it a try. She and my mom are both big fans of shows I never watch (i.e. Desperate Housewives, Gray’s Anatomy, etc.)
I like to watch true crime shows (Forensic Files, 48 Hours Mystery, Investigators) and stuff like Unsolved History, which is pretty awesome. I don’t normally watch “reality” shows, AGT being the big, and only, exception.
Well…. so in a few short hours we will have some new material to chew over. Let’s hope tonight’s show is not as clumsy as last week’s. Although, if it is, it will make for a more entertaining thread.
Ok, so I went to YouTube and as soon as I saw his face, I remembered who Cas was. He was good.
Julienne Irwin…..I just went to YouTube and was BLOWN AWAY by her rendition a capella of O Holy Night. Click here to view it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE4RmnQzKds
I remembered her too when I saw her, she was the one who missed her father so badly, wasn’t she? I remember thinking how her mother must feel struggling to bring her up after her husband walked out on them and all Julienne could think about was making HIM proud. Like he matters. If she had won, she’d have had him back in an instant, I’m sure. Just lit the dad of one of the guys in Acrodunk. He came out of the woodwork when his son was on AGT, didn’t he. Anyway, she sings beautifully. check it out,.
I think if Julienne were in the contest this year, she’d probably win. Or, at the very least, I would not be voting for Kevin. LOL
StevieCat,
I think you’re confusing Julienne Irwin and Jessica Price. Jessica was the one from last season who’s dad had left. Those are probably my 2 all time favorites on the show. I guess I have a bias to young girls with great voices?
Donna,
You and my wife would enjoy watching those mystery shows together. I love Grey’s Anatomy though. Don’t get me started on that.
However, my 2 favorites to blog about are Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance. In fact, I have blogs for those too:
http://www.puredwts.com/ (starts in 2 weeks)
http://www.puresytycd.com/ (starts tomorrow)
My all time favorite show has to be Amazing Race though. However, it’s more fun to watch than it is to blog about.
My favorites are The Closer and Leverage, then comes Bones. Then American Idol and used to be AGT. My friends at work have already stopped watching AGT so it’s so great you have this blog. It fills the void of not being able to go back and forth with my coworkers. Now nobody know what/who I’m talking about. So, thanks John!!
And yes, I did confuse the two girls. I didn’t remember Jessica singing as well as Julienne, so that explains it….they’re two different people. Big DUH to me. Thanks.
P.S. I’ll “tune in” to your other two blogs. I usually watch them most of the way through and then stop. So maybe this time I’ll stay with it.
Glad to share it with you StevieCat. This year has been a somewhat down year for AGT and the same for this blog. Although, it’s done reasonably well. Just wait and see the other 2 blogs once the season starts. I think I hit 200 comments on one SYTYCD music thread within a couple hours. It was insane.
Yes, Julienne had a much higher quality voice than Jessica, but Jessica had a special quality to her singing that I liked more than Julienne. However, both were fantastic. Check out Julienne’s singing with Taylor Swift. Kind of crazy to see what Taylor has become after that performance.
I wish they would produce a separate “America’s Kids Got Talent” with the prize being college scholarships and a part on a kids’ TV show. I’m not sure where the cut off age should be, maybe 16, or maybe they should have several categories, under 10, 11-15, 16-18. There is always a big difference between a 10 or 12 year old and an adult. No child, no matter how talented can sing like Barbara Padilla. On the other hand no adult can pull off as cute as the 4-year-old from last summer. I admit I usually root for the adult, knowing the child has time to develop, improve, and have another chance, whereas some adults may not have another chance at stardom.
As for Piers. I have to admit that I almost always agree with him. I think he is the voice of reason most of the time. Most people just don’t have the guts to tell someone to their face that they didn’t perform well. I couldn’t do it myself, but on this kind of show someone needs to do it.
Hi CJ:
I think the “Kids Got Talent” is an excellent idea, as is the prize idea. Especially the way college costs are soaring!
As for Piers: I agree with you, and often I agree with him. I do not like what happened with Arcadian Broad last week, but last night was much better. You are right that generally Piers says what needs to be said. This thread started in part however, because John noted that Piers was not on the mark as usual last week, and some of his comments were inconsistent with the sorts of critiques we’ve come to expect.
Last night I thought he was on the mark, but was a bit harsh with FootworKings. David said all they had to do was dance but that is wrong. All the acts are told they have to add new elements, do things better, etc., and FootworKings was trying to do that. Not sure why they chose the power rangers bit, but I didn’t think it made them uncool per se.
CJ, great idea about the prize of a college scholarship, however……will it be as phony a prize as the million dollars and be payable in yearly installments for 40 years and not enough annually to pay the tuition? LOL
And I also thought FootworKings really made themselves lame with the power rangers theme. They are street kids from Chicago, who in the world would associate them with Power Rangers. I bet it was another producers’ idea gone terribly wrong.
Hi StevieCat:
I don’t totally disagree with what Piers said about FootworKings, but their dancing wasn’t bad, just their choice of “superheroes.” However I don’t think it would have been any better if they’d come out dressed as the Justice League. Maybe if they were all dressed up as “Hellboy” that would have been considered cool.
I hated the look on their faces after Piers and Sharon let them have it. They were stunned and crestfallen.
I think they should not take things too hard, though. The fact is so far only singers have won AGT (might as well be called American Idol Part II). The one difference is Terry Fator who does ventriloquism, humor, and singing.
Hi, Donna. Just an fyi….we’ve moved onto a new thread about last night’s show. It’s at:
https://pureamericasgottalent.com/2009/09/08/final-americas-got-talent-semi-finals-performance-show/
check it out. :0)
Hey Kitty!
Dorothy Bishop resonded to you on the other thread and said to go ahead and post her comments wherever you wanted. see her comment at:
https://pureamericasgottalent.com/2009/07/18/americas-got-talent-episode-8-thoughts/
Kid’s Got Talent is an interesting idea. Although, I think the ratings do so good since it has such variety of acts and ages. Just kids wouldn’t do nearly as well with the ratings I think.
Hey, John. I thought you said you had blogs for SYTYCD. I went to the link and it’s written by a totally different person. Or did I misunderstand and it’s your website but written by someone else on your staff, is that it?
Hey StevieCat,
I do have a SYTYCD blog and a DWTS blog, but I do have a bunch of help on those blogs. I actually want to do the same for this blog. You want to start writing some posts on here StevieCat?
I wouldn’t call them staff either. They are just big fans of the show like I. We kind of divide and conquer. This season will be the first time that I’ve really had much help on the sites, so it will be interesting to see how it goes turning over my “babies” to other people. So far so good;-)